In the post-colonial era, the Arab world has been dominated by military dictatorships; but now people are in the midst of changing their governments in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, and protests are forcing change in Syria, Bahrain, Sudan, and other countries. In a discussion moderated by BBC presenter Philippa Thomas, Tunisian activist Lina Ben Mhenni, Libyan author Ghazi Gheblawi, Bahraini human rights activist Maryam al-Khawaja, Sudanese blogger Amir Ahmad Nasr, and Egyptian internet activist Wael Ghonim discuss whether this is a true paradigm shift to an open and democratic Arab World, or simply the illusion of real change.